Overview

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Description

Answer the following questions as if you were giving advice to a student teacher.

How would I introduce a discussion of my approach to instructional design?			My approach to instructional design begins with thinking about the end product. This means I first think about what I want my students to understand and be able to do once I am finished with a unit or a lesson. I begin by creating my objective for my students which includes a language and a content objective. Then I plan for the assessment piece meaning how I will determine whether or not students mastered understanding of the content.
What are my resources for designing units and lessons?			My resources are my college text books and books that I own such as: for writing I use Lucy Calkins books, for math I like to use Marilyn Burns. When teaching science and social studies I like to research the topics on either the internet or with books that include the topic I am researching. Working with other teachers is also a way to include collaboration when planning for instruction and also helps me to brainstorm ideas and think about what I would like to include in my lessons.
What do I generally do first?			Generally, I plan for my objectives and write them down. The next step I plan for my assessment and this helps me to focus on what content I will be teaching in the classroom and how I will deliver the content. The third step is planning for engagement opportunities for my students which may include cooperative learning strategies as well as partner talks. I plan for engagement by thinking about what questions I would like my students to explore during their talks. One way to plan for questioning is utilizing Blooms Taxonomy of higher level questions and also using the Backwards Design method of planning for essential questions before I deliver my lesson.
How do I interact with the standards?			I have a curriculum guide which serves as a map of the standards throughout the year. These standards are the essential standards that need to be taught during specific quarters of the school year. Utilizing the standards I choose the standards that work with my objectives as well as my materials and content and I plan for my lessons from there.
What are my constraints and how do I respond to them?			My constraints are the ELD block which outlines my instructional day with specific amounts of time to teach core subjects and skills for second language students. With these constraints I do have to connect content across the multiple disciplines in order to teach all subject areas. I may be teaching writing but I am also incorporating social studies content and allowing students to research a topic and write about what they learned in order to reach two content areas during the instructional block of time allowed for writing.
How do I approach student assessment?			I first plan for assessment and determine students background knowledge. Then I use the data from this assessment as a tool for differentiated grouping and re-teaching opportunities. After the lesson is completed I administer another assessment to determine the students who understood the content. I use this data to plan for future lessons and activities to strengthen understanding.
How do I approach post-assessment?			I use post-assessments as a tool to use for small group instruction in order for me to extend on what students already understand or re-teach certain concepts they need further help with.
How do I approach self-assessment?			Self-assessment is used as a portfolio for students to see how they have improved throughout the school year. They can choose which pieces of work they want to include in their portfolio that they feel best reflects their understanding and how they have improved.
What are areas I would like to learn more about and/or become better at?			I would like to continue working on writing instruction and modeling good writing behaviors. I would also like to work more on math teaching and allowing students with sufficient time to practice essential skills that reflect standards and objectives stated for the grade level I am teaching.
What final advice would I give about my approach to instructional design?			My advice is to plan for your objective, assessment, and engagement before the lesson is actually planned.